


Six Times the Losers Realized Stan Was Brave on Their Own and the One Time They all Found Out Together

by FrickenChicken_FuckinCluckin



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Also Stan can play the piano, I will die by that, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Stan Uris is brave!!!, There isn't any ship but some are implied
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-01-30 07:07:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21424174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrickenChicken_FuckinCluckin/pseuds/FrickenChicken_FuckinCluckin
Summary: Stanley Uris was never the type to run headlong into danger, to make the first move or fight back. He was a coward and he knew it, he was weak compared to the others, (“you’re n-not a coward Stan! Being scared isn’t w-w-w-weak, okay? It’s n-normal, if anything I’m a freak.”) But he could be brave in his own ways, in his own time, it was just no one noticed because it didn’t involve killer clowns, or at least that’s what he thought.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom & Stanley Uris, Beverly Marsh & Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough & Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak & Stanley Uris, Mike Hanlon & Stanley Uris, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris, Stanley Uris & Everyone
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	1. Richie

**Author's Note:**

> It's exactly what the title says! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

Richie woke to a loud knock on his window, instinctively he reached for the baseball bat he now kept next to his bed at all times. It had only been three weeks since the fight with IT so sue him for being paranoid. He slid his glasses on as he approached the curtains, bat raised and ready so swing, but behind the curtains and glass was the last person Richie would expect to see, there on his window seal sat none other than Stan “The Man” Uris. 

Richie pulled the curtains back all the way and opened the window, taking a step back to let Stan in, “Dude, what the fuck are you doing on my window at,” he turned to read his alarm clock, “fucking 3:15 in the morning?” 

“You do this to me all the time, it’s called karma.” Stan said, rolling his eyes at his friend.

“Well, yeah but I’m me, what’s your excuse?” Richie argued back but it was clear Stans head was somewhere else.

“So I was thinking…” the curly haired boy began before trailing off.

“I bet that was hard for you.” Richie said once the pause began to drag on.

“Shut up, Richie. I’m trying to think, okay?” Stan snapped back.

Richie looked down at the ground, obviously this was not a time to tease him, he looked back up once Stan began again.

“I was just thinking about how...the painting, the one of the women, Judith, that IT used to...scare me, is still in my dad's office. And since what happened at my bar mitzvah he’s been having me study like crazy to “make up for what I did” or whatever. I have to see it every time I go in there and I  _ hate  _ it, I hate it!” Stan ranted, trying to keep his voice down so they don’t wake up Richie’s parents. 

“Okay, yeah that sucks, but how does that explain why you’re in my room?” Richie asked, Stan always came to him with his problems first, and vice versa, but he couldn’t understand why he had to come over  _ now.  _

Stan let out a heavy sigh, clearly annoyed that Richie isn't getting what Stan wanted him to. “I’m  _ trying to say _ I want to get rid of it! I want it gone and I never want to see it again!” 

“So what Einstein? Do you want to break into the synagogue and rip it up?” Richie asked, rolling his eyes at Stan.

“Actually, I want to burn it.” Richie's eyes snapped up to his friends face, who was now smiling slightly, not the smile that use to give him butterflies but one that promised trouble. 

“Okay let me get this straight,” he laughed to himself, like you could ever do that  _ I know your secret… _ ”you, Stanley Uris, want to break into the  _ synagogue  _ at 3:20 in the morning in order to  _ burn _ one of the paintings on your dad's office wall?” He paused waiting for a confirmation from the other boy, and once Stans head nodded he continued, “Shit Stanley! You’ve never been the type to do something like this, maybe I should bring you next time Bev and I-“ 

“I’m going to stop you right there. No thanks, you and Bev can continue to be delinquents without me. I just want it gone, now are you going to help me or not?” Stan cut Richie off, beginning to look a little unsure of his plan. If Richie wouldn’t help him, he wasn’t sure who else would. Ben, Mike and Bill would all probably try and tell him it’s not worth it and he should find a different way, Eddie would yell at him and list every single way the plan would go wrong, Beverly would probably help him but she was already dealing with enough as it is, he didn’t want to bother her with his problems. 

It was never a process of elimination, Richie would always be his first choice. They had been best friends since they were five years old, it might not always seem like it but Stan would do anything for the boy in glasses, and he knew Richie would do the same for him. Eddie may have been Richie's favorite person but Stan was his best friend. 

“Fine, fine, of course I’ll help you, dipshit. Now!” Richie loudly said, clapping his hands together causing Stan to flinch. “Sorry, but anyways! Now, how exactly are we supposed to get into it?”

Stan grinned and lifted his hand, there around his finger was a ring of keys.

* * *

“Shit!” Richie hissed, tripping over the rug that lay in between the pews.

“Watch where you’re walking!” Stan whispered back, “You’re going to get us caught. My dad would kill me.”

Richie rolled his eyes at his best friend, “You worry too much. After this summer, I’m pretty sure nothing can kill us.”

“We could probably still kill ourselves.” Stan said casually.

Richie stopped, he stared at the back of his friend’s head. Stan had been making jokes and comments like that more frequently this summer and he was beginning to get worried. Richie knew the others were already but they didn’t know Stan like Richie did, he had always had a strange sense of humor but after what happened with Pennywise...Richie wasn’t sure it was just off colored jokes anymore. 

After Neibolt, the last time, Stan pulled back from the group. They figured it was just him trying to process everything that had happened, they were all trying too, but somehow it had felt different. Bill had tried to talk to Stan in those following days but all he got was excuses, ‘my parents won’t let me out because I got hurt’ or ‘I’m feeling a little sick’. It truly came to a boiling point one night, a week after the fight, Stan showed up on the Denbrough’s doorstep asking to see Bill. Richie had been over, Bill had invited him as another olive branch (like beating the shit out of a killer clown to save you wasn’t clearly saying ‘I forgive you and I’m sorry too’), and when he saw Stan at the top of the stairs he automatically knew something was wrong. Stan had insisted that he was fine, that they could continue with their videogame, but both boys could sense that wasn’t true.

About an hour after Stan’s arrival, Bill and Richie heard quiet sniffs coming from behind them on Bill’s bed. They made eye contact before quickly turning off their game and scrambling to sit on either side of the curly haired boy. It was that night that Stan confessed everything he had kept locked away. How he felt once he realized he was alone, the phantom pains he still gets on his face, the lights he saw in Pennywise and what they showed him, of the death that played out before him like a demented movie, about how the painting wasn’t just a painting but also his dad, the feeling of being alone, but worst of all: he told them about how he wished the clown had just killed him. 

Neither one had known how to react to the sudden revelations dropped on them, they had known that Stan was taking what happened to them the hardest, Stan was the only one of their group to be physically hurt by IT before the big fight, and he had to go through it alone. Reasonably Stan had to know that they hadn’t left him or anything, he knew that the clown purposefully split them up but his pain was no less real in spite of that knowledge. 

They had tried their best that night to comfort him, promised him that nothing would hurt him again, ( _ IT  _ wouldn't hurt him again) that they would never leave him alone. They stayed that way all night, curled up against each other, they stayed that way long after Stan had fallen asleep. The next morning Stan had asked them not to tell the others what he told them, they encouraged Stan to do it himself but agreed to keep his secret. 

Bill was acting kinder and more upbeat for Stan, which Richie was sure he appreciated but Richie  _ knew _ that Stan just wanted things to be the way they were before that summer, so that's how Richie acted but with comments like that it was getting harder to ignore. 

“Dude! What are you doing? Hurry up!” Stand voice cut through the others thoughts. Richie sprung back into action, jogging to catch up with his friend who was waiting outside his dad's office.

“Sorry, I was thinking of Eddie’s mom.” Richie explained with a cheeky smile, he figured it might be best not to interrogate Stan about that comment just yet. 

The joke earned him an other one of Stans famous eye rolls, “Beep, beep, Richie.” He said with exasperation but the small smile on his face gave him away, “This is the office, are you ready?” 

“Stanny the Manny I’m  _ always _ ready.” 

“Whatever.” Stan glanced at the door his hand rested on, “Let’s just get this over with.” With that he pushed open the door to reveal a large room, though it was nearly pitch black so early in the morning. 

For a split second both boys were ready to run, who knew what could be waiting in the dark for them and it was too risky to turn on the lights, the flashlights they were currently using were risky for goodness sakes, Richie was just about to offer that they go back to his place and they could come back later but before he could open his mouth Stan took a breath and walked right into the darkness, Richie paused a second, he hadn’t expect Stan to go first, and followed him in. 

Stan stopped a few feet from the door, he simply stared ahead at the bookcase for a few seconds before looking at the ground, he seemed to be deep in thought. Richie slowly walked up to him but made sure to be loud enough Stan would hear him approaching, he placed his hand on the other boys shoulder, “Stan?” 

The curly haired boy didn’t respond, he just squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head before looking up and back at his friend. They held eye contact for a few seconds, in Stan’s eyes Richie could see just how scared he was of the painting hanging somewhere in the room. Stan’s eyes slowly slid over to his right, Richie followed his gaze and there right beside them was Stan’s women. 

Richie looked at her messed up face and dead, white eyes and realized, not for the first time, he regretted making fun of Stan for being scared of her, “Definitely  _ not _ hot.” 

The break in tension was enough to send Stan into hysterics and seeing his friend laughing so hard cause Richie to fall into his own fit. It took them nearly five minutes to calm down and stop giggling. 

Stan wiped his eyes with a small smile still on his face, “Beep, beep dumbass.” Stan said, once the words left his mouth the smile disappeared, “We should just take it and get out of here already.” 

Richie nodded, that was probably a smart idea, “Fine, let’s get this show on the roll!” He grabbed the painting off the wall and tried to tuck it under his arm but quickly found it was bigger than he thought. He eventually settled on holding above him and resting it on his head, “Lets go!” 

* * *

  
  


Getting out of the synagogue was a lot harder than getting in, Richie ended up tripping out of the window and broke the paintings frame and riding your bike with a huge canvas on it was more difficult than said but eventually they made it back to the Tozier household. 

The duo went straight to the backyard rather than try and get back up to Richie’s room and risk waking his parents. 

“Dude, you know if we burn this in my backyard we’ll wake up the whole neighborhood, right?” Richie asked as he glanced back at his house.

“Well then what do you suggest we do, Rich?” Stan questioned his friend, stress seeping into his voice, he just wanted her gone. 

“We could go somewhere else, like the barrens?”

Stan shot an incredulous stare at him, “You really want to go to the  _ barrens _ ?” 

Richie slightly cringed, no one had gone back there after everything that happened with IT. He shrugged helplessly, “Where else could we go then?” 

Stan took a minute to think before shrugging back, “Fine, barrens it is.” With that he stood up, grabbed the painting, and walked out towards their bikes. Richie stares after his friend for what felt like the millionth time that morning, no way was Stan Uris leading him down to the Barrens to burn a painting they stole from his dads office after breaking into the synagogue. 

“Are you coming?!” 

That snapped Richie out of it and he jogged to get to his friend. Stranger things had happened. 

* * *

The barrens had been closed off to the public the day after their fight with IT. Just after Henry Bowers was arrested they found all of the bodies of the missing children in it and decided it was too dangerous, or at least for a while until the investigation ended. But closed off in Derry just meant some caution tape the two boys easily ducted under. 

They made their way to the area they had met Ben at, the place where it all began. 

“Here’s fine.” Stan told Richie stopping right in front of the sewer entrance.

“Right here? Are you sure?” Richie asked, eyeing the tunnel. Logically he knew that they beat IT, Pennywise ran away from them but they didn’t kill it, he just knew it. 

“If IT's alive I want IT to see.” Stan explained in a voice that clearly showed he was unaware he had just said one of the coolest things Richie had heard. Richie knew Stan was petty, he knew better than anyone but to burn the imagine an interdimensional monster used to hurt and try to eat you as, in front on their front door was a new level for him. “Are you going to help or just stand there?” 

Richie quickly got to helping Stan organize a makeshift fireplace and gather wood from nearby. After a few minutes Stan deemed their fireplace good enough and told Richie to place the painting in the middle. Richie made sure to put it face down so the women, Judith is what Stan called her, wouldn’t be looking at them as she burned. Stan frowned once Richie stood back up and bent down to flip it so they could see the actual painting. Richie gave his friend a questioning glance.

“I want to see her burn.” Stan simply said, offering nothing more. Richie just looked at Stan as he lit a match and threw it onto the painting. The offending object quickly caught the flame and lit up. The flames reflected in his eyes, exposing the fear and satisfaction that was in them. 

It was that moment that Richie realized that Stanley Uris was one of the bravest people he had ever met, braver than Bill and Bev even. Stan just needed time to let it shine, he was a different kind of brave. Stan who jumped into the river to help Ben despite going on about poison ivy being everywhere just minutes before, Stan who ran into Neibolt when he heard Eddie screaming the first time, Stan who came back a second time, no matter how scared he was because his friends needed him, Stan who was attacked and alone in the sewers but continued on afterwards to help them beat IT. Stan who had been his best friend since kindergarten even though Richie was annoying, even though Stan knew about he felt about Eddie. 

He noticed a tear roll down Stans cheek, Richie pulled his best friend into a hug and held on like his life depended on it because for a moment it felt like both of theirs did. They stood there until the sun rose, long after the flames died out. Richie held on until he felt the shaking stop, and even after that. It wasn’t until Stan pulled away that Richie let him go, they had to get back to their houses soon or their parents would wake up and they’d definitely get in trouble,  _ more _ trouble. 

Richie offered to walk Stan back to his own house. He watched as Stan opened his front door before turning and waving goodbye. That smile made the whole thing worth it, he thought as he rode down the street to his own house, anything is worth it if it makes Stan smile. 


	2. Beverly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan and Beverly spend the day together
> 
> (Trigger warning: Nothing graphic but references to Bev's dad)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say that I don't actually think of Stan's parents in the light they're painted in in this chapter but I'm basing everything off of the movie so it fits that narrative more
> 
> Let me know of any mistakes, please

Beverly wouldn’t say her and Stan were super close, or at least not compared to their bond with some of the others. They would still consider the other their best friend, it’s just that if Stan has an issue he goes to Bill or Richie and she’d go to Ben or Richie. They’d never had much one on one time in the 5 months they’d been friends, so she was a little surprised when he showed up one day, knocking on her door. 

Right away she could tell he was stressed, Stan had always been an open book. 

Bev took a step back from the door and jerked her head to the side, he took the hint and quietly walked into her aunt’s living room. 

“So, any reason you came over or…?” She asked. She didn’t mean to be rude but it was out of the ordinary for only Stan to come over. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I interrupting anything?” He asked.

She smiled reassuringly at him, “No, don’t worry. I was just curious.” 

His lips formed a silent ‘oh’, “I was just...it’s…” He looked unsure, focusing on anything but Beverly.

“Hey take your time.”

The boy let out a slow breath, “When you were trapped in ITs...lights...or whatever, you said you saw all of us when we’re our parents ages, back in the sewers,” Stan paused to make sure she was paying attention, “You also said that I was there, the same but taller.” 

“Stan…” Bev began, reaching out towards him. She wasn’t sure where this was going but she could sense that she wasn’t going to like it.

“Just, let me finish?” He pleaded, fear and uncertainty clouded his eyes. Bev dropped her hand to her side but raised it again to gesture towards the couch. 

“What about it?” The redhead asked once they had both sat down. 

“Well when we went down to look for you, and Mike was fighting Bowers, I got separated, IT got me,” the boys had told Bev about that a day or two after the big fight, during the time Stan was pulling back from the group. She couldn’t imagine how the others had felt at that moment, let alone how Stan felt. “I saw the lights too, Bev.” 

Bev pulled back slightly in shock, “Stan…What— what did you see?” She was almost scared of the answer. 

“Horrible things, the older us but not together. For the most part we were usually far, far apart and we all died, in increasingly worse ways. But I did vaguely see us as a group but I wasn’t there, I killed myself. In the bathtub. Always in the bathtub. Bev, I need to know. Did you lie to me? Was I really in your vision too?” 

“I—Stan-“ She couldn’t find the words to say, how do you admit to lying about something like that? 

“I’m not mad Bev, I understand.” 

“I’m not going to let that happen, Stan. Those were just to scare us, they don’t mean anything.” She wasn’t sure if she was trying to reassure him or herself. 

Stan gave her a look that clearly said he didn’t quite believe her but appreciated it anyways.

“I’m serious, Stan.” She tried again.

“I believe you.” 

They sat in silence for a while, both trying to process the truths they had shared. It wasn’t until Beverly’s aunt had gotten back to the house that either one moved. Stan had tried to leave after that but Bev and her aunt teamed up and convinced him to stay for dinner. Eventually he relented and agreed, and the two teens went back to the girls room while her aunt set about cooking. 

  
  
  
  


They played a few card games but abandoned it after a few minutes in favor of playing Bev’s piano, they had discovered a common interest in the instrument. Stan had learned how to play from Mrs. Denbrough when he was no older than seven, she had been trying to teach Bill when they had first become friends but the other boy didn’t take an interest in it like Stan had, the older women had been more than happy to teach her son’s friend. 

“That’s adorable!” Bev exclaimed, half jokingly when Stan had told her the story of his first attempts at “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. 

“Yeah, you would have loved Bill’s parents back then, they were really sweet before Georgie,” a somber silence fell between them after that. Bev wished she had gotten the chance to meet Bill’s little brother. Stan cleared his throat, “So why did you learn?” 

“Oh!” Bev said, the question catching her off guard, she should have seen it coming. 

Stan seemed to sense her hesitance to answer the question, “You don’t have to answer that,” he quickly added.

“No it’s fine, really. I taught myself, actually. I sorta used it to distract myself from what was happening with my dad, it was my one escape before I met you guys.” 

“I’m sorry,” Stan apologized, he should have known it would be about her dad, that was a sensitive subject they all had silently agreed  _ not  _ to bring up. 

“It’s  _ fine,  _ Stan. I don’t mind talking about it. I trust you.” 

“It’s not the same, by any means, but my dad...we don’t really get along. He wants me to be the perfect son but I’m just not and that causes a lot of fights.” Stan confessed after a lull in the conversation, she had opened up to him, the least he could do was return the favor.

Bev was looking at him again now, she knew that Stan would force himself to be as perfect as he could be a lot but she figured that was just Stan. “I’m sorry, Stan. That must suck.” 

“I mean it’s nothing compared to...you know. But it’s not fun. You know at my bar mitzvah, during my speech, I cussed out everyone there and then walked out. Richie was the only one who was impressed, I got in so much trouble when I finally went home. And then a month later Richie and I broke in and burned the painting from his office.” Richie had told her about that, Stan continued, “And it feels like ever since then it’s all gone down hill at home. I can’t do anything right.” 

“Believe me, I understand. My dad...I look like my mom, that's why he did what he did. He blamed me for her death, it drove him off the deep end. Everything I did was either compared to her or was a reason why she died, I couldn’t do anything right in his eyes either. But then I found you losers and it didn’t matter anymore, I was enough in your eyes and that was what I cared about, I wasn’t anything more than Beverly and that’s all I needed to be.” 

“Dads, am I right?” Stan said with a sad smile.

“Dads.” Beverly agreed with her own smile. 

“Kids! Dinners ready!” Bevs aunt called them from the kitchen.

  
  
  


By the time the trio had finished dinner the sun had begun to set. Stan had insisted that he needed to leave and thankfully the two ladies had agreed to let him go this time. Bev walked him down to where his bike was parked. 

She pulled him into a hug before he got on the bike, “If you need to talk about anything, I’m here. I think we have more in common than we thought.” She whispered into his ear. 

He pulled back and looked her in the eyes, “You too, I’m always willing to listen, plus I have Richie as a best friend so my window is usually unlocked, unless I’m mad at him.” 

Bev laughed at that, leave it to Stanley to be both the most thoughtful and petty person ever. “Noted. You, me and Bill need to start the Shitty Dad Support Group.” She suggested with a smile, only somewhat joking, she was willing to bet they could all use something like that. 

Her grin widened as Stan let out a loud laugh at that, “Definitely, maybe we can let Eddie in on it and make it the Shitty Parents Support Group.” 

“I can see why they call you the brains of the group.” 

“I think we say that because the rest of you are always about to dumb and/or reckless things, more so than I’m actually the smartest. Unfortunately for the rest of us, I’d give that title to Rich.” 

“Don’t let him hear you say that his ego doesn’t need to be bigger.” Bev said in mock seriousness. “But really, I’m here. You’re so much more than what your dad thinks, your stronger than you know, Stan. You’re going to grow up and become more of a man than your father ever was or will be.” She continued on in actual seriousness.

“You too, Bev.  _ We’re  _ gonna prove them wrong.” He said back, reaching out and squeezing her hand to reaffirm his point. 

“See you later, Stan.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. 

“Goodnight, Bev.” With that he rode away back to his house. 

Beverly stood outside for a minute longer, watching his figure disappear around the street corner. She knew that he didn’t believe her, not completely. About the future and about his father but she was going to make sure they both got their happy endings, no matter what. He was trying and that was the bravest thing he could do. With a smile still on her face Beverly turned and walked back to her new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while! Hi! Hope everyone is good! 
> 
> I'm @eddies-hoe-shorts on tumblr, come say hi

**Author's Note:**

> Once again thank you for reading! Feedback is always appreciated!
> 
> (I'm eddies-hoe-shorts on tumblr)


End file.
